Theresa May reignites debate over surveillance powers

Home Secretary Theresa May says extending powers for police and security
services to access emails and social media is "quite simply a question
of life and death, a matter of national security"

4:37PM BST 25 Jun 2014

At least 20 cases have been dropped by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in six months as a result of missing communications data - including 13 threat-to-life scenarios involving children, the Home Secretary has revealed.

Reigniting the debate over access to communications data, Theresa May said an increasing array of technology, owned by private companies, was making it harder for the state to protect the public.

Speaking at the Lord Mayor's Defence and Security Lecture at Mansion House, in the City of London, Mrs May said she will continue to argue in favour of changing the law to extend powers for police and security services to access emails and social media.

And she repeated tough criticism of the actions of US whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked tens of thousands of top-secret documents containing details of the activities of America's National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain's listening post GCHQ.

Last year, the Government's Communications Data Bill, dubbed the 'snoopers' charter' by critics, was put on hold after opposition from the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats.

The Home Secretary said: "Over a six-month period the National Crime Agency alone estimates that it has had to drop at least 20 cases as a result of missing communications data."

The Home Secretary's comments come after the UK's top counter-terrorism officer, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Cressida Dick, said renewed warnings that the powers of the police to counter terrorism were being "degraded by the day" because of the failure of surveillance powers to keep up with new communications technologies.